LCWRA and universal credits

lunabell
lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener
edited November 13 in Universal Credit (UC)

I’ve received note to say I have received lcwra however it says I won’t receive any money because my husband is in receipt of disability (pip) I’m just wondering why this is he receives carers allowance which is deducted from UC. Does this mean I won’t receive any payments at all or is it just a reduced amount also it doesn’t actually say how long I don’t need to provide fit notes. Do they just contact me when I need to start again. New to all this benefit systems after working the most part of my life. Thank you for any advice you can give me.

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Comments

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

  • Lauren29
    Lauren29 Online Community Member Posts: 23 Connected

    Does your husband have lcwra? If he does then you can't receive an additional payment as if you are part of a couple you can't both be paid for this element. Are you receiving the Carers Element of Universal Credit and Carers Allowance for looking after him?

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Thank you for replying no he receives pip and carers allowance for being my carer but the its only me who has been awarded lcwra but the letter says I won’t receive any payments if my partner receives disability benefits

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    also I’m not sure what the carers element is his carers allowance is deducted from the total amount of universal credit we receive

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,470 Championing

    Carers Element is an additional payment on UC that effectively 'replaces' the Carers Allowance which has been deducted. (It's not the same amount though and not everyone qualifies for it).

    Would you mind posting a photo or screenshot showing the exact wording of the letter?

    When claiming as a couple, you should be able to claim LCWRA and he should be able to Carers Element. So I'm not quite sure what's happened in your case. If you can post a screenshot showing which elements of UC you both get, that could help us as well.

    Regarding fit notes, you do not need to supply any more once you've been awarded LCWRA.

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener
    edited November 13

    this is the letter I received about LCWRA

    [Image removed - personal information]

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,470 Championing

    Thank you. That letter isn't worded very well. It's just a generic statement that means you wouldn't get LCWRA if your partner already does. It is not directly linked to your case. You should still get the extra money based on the info we have so far.

    (PS - That letter contains personal information, a mod will hide that for you, please try to avoid personal info if uploading any other letters.)

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Is this what you were meaning?

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 1,713 Championing
    edited November 13

    In a couples claim, only one can receive LCWRA.

    It is LCWRA that the "you will not get it if you have a partner who already gets extra money for a disability or health condition" refers to.

    That line doesn't refer to PIP.

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    it’s only me that’s been awarded lcwra however I’ve received my payment statement today for November and they’ve deducted lcwra payment from it. I don’t understand it at all

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,470 Championing

    We can see that your partner is already getting the Carers Element of Universal Credit. Where you have crossed out their name. So that is correct, you get LCWRA, and they get Carers Element. 🙂

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 1,713 Championing
    edited November 13

    They've correctly reduced your Transitional Protection.

    Transitional Protection is designed to make sure you aren't worse off at the point of transfer.

    This amount reduces over time as various elements increase (annual rises) or you have changes in circumstance, such as a new award of LCWRA.

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,470 Championing

    LCWRA hasn't been deducted on that statement. The deductions are:

    Carers Allowance, Advance payment and Housing element.

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    does lcwra get paid separately or is it included in the universal credit payment? Thank you for replying

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 1,713 Championing
    edited November 13

    It is included in the overall UC payment.

    On your statement all the elements currently in payment are at the beginning. For you these are:

    Standard, Housing, Carer, LCWRA, Transitional Protection.

    To summarise:

    Your claim is correct with one LCWRA and one Carers Element (the maximum allowed for a couple)

    Your Transitional Protection has correctly reduced due to the new award of LCWRA element.

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    so does that mean I don’t receive any extra money for lcwra as the final payment is the same I’ve been receiving since I first transitioned to universal credits? Sorry for sounding stupid but haven’t got a clue when it comes to this sort of thing

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    just my daughters boyfriend gets extra money on top of his universal credit each month for being in the LCWRA group I wasn’t sure if it would go on universal credit payments in the bank or separate like my husbands carers allowance

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 1,713 Championing
    edited November 13

    The LCWRA element is part of UC and gets paid through Universal Credit.

    You had Transitional Protection on your claim after moving from legacy benefits, which has now reduced by the LCWRA amount.

    So while you do receive LCWRA, your UC payment amount remains the same due to the Transitional Protection decreasing by £416.69.

    Your daughters boyfriend may not have had TP on his claim, in which case his money went up.

  • lunabell
    lunabell Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    ahh right I get you now I think it’s wrong because I was going to use this money if I got it to buy aids for the house a stair lift would really benefit me as well as other things but thank you so much for explaining it really appreciate your help